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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Perils of Flawless Protagonists, August 26, 2004
This review is from: Scepters (Corean Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)
This is a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy begun in "Darknesses" and "Legacies." Modesitt's writing continues to improve (although there are some appalling typos) and some mysteries from the first two books are answered. There's also enough unresolved issues and mysteries - several of the bad guy Ifrits and Efrans are still on the loose - to leave room for sequels.
But there are sour notes, too. And while this is, overall, the best book Modesitt has produced since the earliest Recluce novels, some of those sour notes detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
Sure this is fantasy, and as long as we are fantasizing, we might as well have a perfect love interest, but the relationship between Alucius and Wendra is just too perfect. They never fight, quarrel or disagree. These two would be a lot more compelling if they and their relationship was just a little more real. Especially since Modesitt purely cannot write a sexually charged scene.
The faint hints in "Darknesses" that Alucius might be at least partially a creation of the Soarers is never developed or explained. For me, there are faint echos of E.E. Smith's "Lensmen" series here. The prefix "a" means "in" and "lucius" means "light." The first pages of "Darknesses" have the infant Alucius bathed in the Soarer's green-gold light. Tantalizing ideas. But we never find out.
And then there is the "Superman effect." What makes the comic book character Superman starkly incredible is that he is darn near all-powerful and yet he never is anything but selfless. He's never greedy, selfish or even faintly immoral. He may kill entire regiments of enemies but he fells bad about it afterwards, and anyway he has no choice if he is to save the world (or at least Lois Lane). Look, we *crucified* the last perfect human being, and there haven't been any since. In the last few chapters of this book, Alucius has powers that Superman would envy. And he doesn't abuse or misue them. Not once.
In the somewhat similar Recluce series, the Wizard Lerris at least acts human from time to time; he can be stupid, short-sighted and blind to the obvious. Alucius isn't any of those things. He is immensely more powerful, and his power isn't constrained. Alucius is a much less interesting character as a result. Perfect and nearly omnipotent just isn't that interesting.
Finally, the quasi-ecological theme of "Scepters" is just a little too heavy handed for me. If the Ifrits' and Efrans' life-destroying habits aren't a metaphor for our own culture, then I'm a Soarer. And the implication of "Scepters" - that it is all right to obliterate and extirpate the other guy if you are protecting your own ecology - might just be a little extreme. Analogy, in Heinlein's phrase, is "more slippery than logic," but by analogy it is okay to annihilate that oil industry because of what it does to the environment. Sorry. The ends don't justify the means.
The book is fun, it's well-paced and Talent is an interesting idea. The book is a nice wrap to the trilogy. But it's not Moedesitt's best book. Readers new to the series should read the books in order.
Good, but not great.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Final Confrontation, June 29, 2004
This review is from: Scepters (Corean Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)
Scepters is the third novel in the Corean Chronicles, following Darknesses. In the previous volume, Iron Valleys became a province of Lanachrona and the militia was transferred to Lanachronan control as the Northern Guard. Alucius led four companies of the Northern Guard into Deforya to defend against invading Illegean nomads. After defeating various human and nonhuman enemies -- including legendary yet real pteridons -- and barely surviving his experiences, Alucious was summoned to Tempre to meet the Lord Protector. Encountering an ifrit who had possessed the Recorder of Deeds, he was forced to flee through the Tables network and found his way to the hidden city of the Soarers. There Alucius was taught much more about his Talents and then returned to the Table network to defeat two of the ifrits. Afterwards, Alucius was finally allowed to return to Iron Valleys, was presented with his discharge papers, and, with only a small delay, set off for the family stead. However, on the way he encountered an ambush obviously intended for him and just barely managed to kill all the assassins before they quite finished killing him. After a minimal recovery time and with an escort of Northern Guard horse troopers, Alucius finally returned home to Wendra. In this novel, Alucius and Wendra have been enjoying their time together. However, the situation has gotten worse in the Iron Valleys and in Lanachrona; prices are still rising and the war against the Matrites is not going well. The Lord Protector has been forced to spread his forces too thinly in order to protect against a variety of threats while simultaneously prosecuting the Matrial war. At the request of the Lord Protector, Alucius returns to duty as a Majer and leads an expedition of Northern and Southern Guard companies to put down a duarchist revolt in Hyalt. After that mission, he is requested to lead a special operation against the Matrial crystal-spear throwers. The Lord Protector is careful not to offend Alucius; he appeals mostly to his sense of civic duties, but he also offers command of the Northern Guard to Alucius upon return from the mission, replacing Colonel Weslyn. This combination leaves Alucious without an acceptable alternative and he rides out once more in command of the Fifth Northern Guard company and the Eighth Southern Guard company and with Feran as his second in command. Later, he acquires another two companies of newly trained Southern Guards. In Hyalt, he finds that someone is using Talent to produce total fanatics, so more than military action is required. Afterwards, in Southgate, he spends more time defending himself against senior Lanachronan officers than fighting the Matrites. In this story, Alucius is repeatedly attacked by Talent-beasts sent by the ifrits, who are using the Tables against him. However, he begins to learn more about the ifrits themselves as well as the true history of Corus. He also begins to learns how to use more that his own lifeforce, including the lifeforce of the world itself. Alucius is truly becoming a lamaial, destined to be powerful enough to prevent the return of the duarchists as rulers over Corus. As his powers grow, so does his responsibilities; a goodly amount of the novel is devoted to the ethics of such power. Of course, he also gets to travel more along the worldlines, enjoying encounters with new and more powerful enemies. Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magical powers and speculations on responsibilities and ethical restraints. -Arthur W. Jordin
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great combination of magic, military, and moral ambiguity, August 31, 2004
This review is from: Scepters (Corean Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)
With their own world disintegrating, the ifrit are desperate to complete the conquest of the Corean planet. Once they succeed, they will create a world of beauty, art, and glorious architecture. True, it's a world that will burn out fairly soon--that beauty can only be sustained at a cost to the planet's life force. Still, for the ifrit, it is a sacrifice they are willing to make--have, in fact made with their native world.
Faced with an ifrit-inspired rebellion, the Lord Protector calls Alucius back into service. Alucius wants nothing but to be left to his herds and his pregnant wife, but the Lord Protector's request is compelling. If Alucius does nothing, the world will plunge into the chaos that the ifrit need to succeed in their invasion. But even military success only puts Alucius on a path for destruction. Putting down a rebellion means killing citizens, and eternal hatred.
Alucius relies on his 'talent sense' (or magic) to face first the rebellion, then an invasion in the south fueled by terrible ancient weapons, and finally the ultimate threat in his own homeland where the ifrit have carved out a powerful base and are rapidly gaining control over the world's life-forces. Even assisted by a crack group of Northern Guard lancers, Alucius knows that he lacks the power to succeed on his own--but the ancient ones are dying and unable to offer him the assistance he needs.
Author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. combines magic, military action, and a bit of moral ambiguity to provide a compelling adventure. SCEPTERS isn't the tale of good against evil, but rather a battle between different conceptions of good. Even if he is successful, Alucius cannot know that he has done the right thing, fought for the right cause. And the price to pay for a mistake is large, indeed.
Modesitt is a strong writer with the power to draw the reader into a believable and fascinating world. Although SCEPTERS is part of a series, it can be read as stand-alone, although readers are likely to enjoy it even more if they read the earlier novels first.
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